French women all out at Roland Garros

France’s hopes to see one of its countrywomen through to the final round of the women’s French Open were dashed on Saturday as Alizé Cornet (pictured) and Marion Bartoli were eliminated in the third round.

Once again there will be no French women competitors in the final round of Roland Garros in Paris this year. The country watched its last two hopes for the women’s title eliminated during the third round of the tournament on Saturday after Alizé Cornet fell short against the world number three Victoria Azarenka, and Marion Bartoli suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Italy’s Francesca Schiavone.

Marion Bartoli - Francesca Schiavone 2-6, 1-6

Schiavone, who won the French Open in 2010, ruthlessly defeated a clearly outclassed Bartoli at the tournament’s Suzanne Lenglen court in just 78 minutes.

In the run-up to the match, Bartoli acknowledged that Roland Garros’s famous clay courts were not necessarily her strong suit.

“On a clay court, there is no middle ground with me,” Bartoli said the day before facing off against Schiavone, who was also runner-up in the 2011 French Open. “Either I play really well or I play really badly!”

Unfortunately for France’s number one, it looks as though Saturday’s match was an example of the latter of the two scenarios.

Victoria Azarenka - Alizé Cornet 4-6, 6-3, 6-1

Although ranked number two in France, Cornet didn’t have what it took to defeat third seed Azarenka, who came from behind to win in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Yet despite the upset, Cornet’s game, particularly in the first set, was of a quality not seen by her fans for quite some time.

“Physically, I felt great during the whole match. But then she overwhelmed me with her game. She had me running a lot, and she didn’t let go of a lot of points. At one moment during the third set, it was really hard to keep going, but more because of the intensity and consistency than the physicality,” Cornet said at a press conference after the game.

The match, which was over in just two hours and 22 minutes, was Cornet’s second consecutive defeat at Roland Garros. Meanwhile, Azarenka, who advances to the fourth round, is due to meet Schiavone on Monday.